2015/03/31

Summons Ceremony

Included in "LIVE AT BUDOKAN" (released on 2015 Jan. 7th).
played in "Black Night" concert on 2014 Mar. 2nd.

Summons Ceremony   in "Black Night"

Now... I will tell you all about the Metal Resistance...

This was the world where the overwhelming magic of the big power "Idols"
controlled everything such as mass media, politics, economy.
All music other than idol songs were seen as harmful,
and the Metal was no exception.

The prayer of the apostles who wished the restoration of the Metal
reached the Fox God who is in charge of the Metal,
and the Fox God named the three girls:
SU-METAL, YUIMETAL & MOAMETAL
as "BABYMETAL" which means the birth of a new metal
whose theme is "the fusion of the idols and the Metal"
and sent them down to this world.

In order to get the true Metal,
the Fox God gave BABYMETAL many trials.

All were unknown worlds to them.
The girls who didn't know the true Metal had no way
but to stand up to the trials, believing their own power.
Though they were young, they pushed forward on the way without a path
and changed many given trials into legends one after another,
and people were touched to see that.

The clock hands have begun to move.
The Metal spirit has brought new breath to this land.
The national maestro who is powerful in the mass media
and, at last, the members of the big power Idols
have raised the fox signs which are the symbols of the Metal Resistance.

The Metal spirit has turned into the crimson flame,
has changed the jet-black darkness into a white night,
and, like the sun that doesn't set,
keeps on radiating the vivid crimson light.

The Fox God tells BABYMETAL:
"The first chapter of the Metal Resistance has been completed in this land.
Then, to send up a new signal fire, leaving this land, I summon you to a new world.
The time has come. Now we will advance to foreign lands."

[Summons]
Doomsday time has come.
It is time to depart.

Scream and dance, MOAMETAL,
scream and dance, YUIMETAL,
and, vocal and dance, SU-METAL.
You must leave now.
It is time to depart.

In two-thousand and ten, BABYMETAL was formed
at the root of the theme: Kawaii Metal.
The meaning is the mixture of J-pop idols and Heavy Metal.
BABYMETAL is receiving attention of all over the world.
They are on the road of the one and only.
BABYMETAL say good-bye to Japan...



  • The text enclosed in [   ] was not narrated, only displayed on the screen.

  ROMAJI TRANSCRIPTION AND NOTES ARE BELOW.


[i] About the Chapters of the Metal Resistance

In the concert of 2015 Jan. 10th, it was said the third chapter of the Metal Resistance had begun, so the second chapter began in 2014 March (just after "Black Night") and ended in 2014 December (or just before the moment when "Road of Resistance" was performed in London on 2014 Nov. 8th).

Chaptering, however, shouldn't be taken so seriously. Saying "what ended is actually the first chapter" is alright, but, in the epilogue for "Red Night", it was said as if "Black Night" was the last chapter of the Metal Resistance. The stories narrated in BABYMETAL's concerts contain some discrepancies and advance hints which have been unsolved & forgotten, so there may be no such big difference of BABYMETAL's activity between in 2014 and in 2015 as between in 2013 and in 2014.

[ii] About "召喚" (Shookan; Summons)

It is ambiguous who is to leave this land (= kono chi o hanare). Grammatically (in Japanese), it should be taken as "I (= the Fox God) leave this land and order you to come to a new world". However, leaving this land is unfit to the Fox God because god is anywhere and god is nowhere. Contextually, it is better to take it as "I order you to leave this land and to come to a new world".

Since there is no image of someone calling from over there and the Fox God says "now we will advance", it may look like a departure ceremony rather than a summons ceremony, but it can be said BABYMETAL were summoned by fans in Europe & North America.


Summons Ceremony   in "Black Night"

Romaji TranscriptionEnglish TranslationNotes
 
Imakara... Metaru Rejisutansu no subete o hanasoo. Now... I will tell you all about the Metal Resistance...
 
Kono chi wa kyodai seiryoku "Aidoru" no attooteki-na maryoku ni yotte This was the world where the overwhelming magic of the big power "Idols"1
media seiji keizai nado subete ga shihai sareta sekai. controlled everything such as mass media, politics, economy.
Aidoru songu igai wa subete yuugai to minasare All music other than idol songs were seen as harmful,
metaru mo reigai de wa nakatta. and the Metal was no exception.
 
Metaru no fukken o negatta shito no inori ga The prayer of the apostles who wished the restoration of the Metal
metaru o tsukasadoru kami Kitsune sama no moto eto todoki reached the Fox God who is in charge of the Metal,
Kitsune sama wa SU-METAL and the Fox God named the three girls:
YUIMETAL MOAMETAL no sannin o SU-METAL, YUIMETAL & MOAMETAL
"aidoru to metaru no yuugoo" o teema ni shita as "BABYMETAL" which means the birth of a new metal2
atarashii metaru no tanjoo o imi suru "BABYMETAL" to nazuke whose theme is "the fusion of the idols and the Metal"2,3,4
kono chi eto koorin saseta. and sent them down to this world.
 
Honto no metaru o te-ni-ireru tame In order to get the true Metal,
Kitsune sama wa BABYMETAL ni kazukazu no shiren o ataeta. the Fox God gave BABYMETAL many trials.
 5
Subete wa michi no sekai de atta. All were unknown worlds to them.
Honto no metaru o shira-nai shoojo tachi wa onore no chikara o shinjite The girls who didn't know the true Metal had no way
tada tachimukatte-iku shika sube wa nakatta no da. but to stand up to the trials, believing their own power.
Daga osanai nagara mo michi naki michi o tsuki susumi Though they were young, they pushed forward on the way without a path
ataerareta kazukazu no shiren o tsugitsugi to densetsu eto kaete-iku sugata ni and changed many given trials into legends one after another,
hitobito wa kokoro o utareru no de atta. and people were touched to see that.
 
Tokei no hari wa ugoki hajimeta. The clock hands have begun to move.
Metaru no tamashii wa kono chi ni aratana ibuki o motarashi The Metal spirit has brought new breath to this land.
media o sekken suru kokumin-teki maesutoro ya The national maestro who is powerful in the mass media6
tsuini wa kyodai seiryoku Aidoru made mo ga Metaru Rejisutansu no and, at last, the members of the big power Idols
shoochoo de aru kitsune sain o kakageru no de atta. have raised the fox signs which are the symbols of the Metal Resistance.7
 
Metaru no tamashii wa kurenai no honoo to nari The Metal spirit has turned into the crimson flame,
shikkoku no yami o isshun no uchi ni byakuya eto kae has changed the jet-black darkness into a white night,
shizuma-nu taiyoo no yooni senkoo-na hikari o and, like the sun that doesn't set,
hanachi tsuzukeru no de atta. keeps on radiating the vivid crimson light.
 
Kitsune sama wa BABYMETAL ni tsugeru: The Fox God tells BABYMETAL:
"Kono chi de Metaru Rejisutansu dai isshoo wa kanketsu shita. "The first chapter of the Metal Resistance has been completed in this land.[i]
Soshite aratana noroshi o ageru tame kono chi o hanare shintenchi eto shookan suru no da. Then, to send up a new signal fire, leaving this land, I summon you to a new world.8,[ii]
Toki wa kita. Iza susuman ikoku no chi eto." The time has come. Now we will advance to foreign lands."9
 
[Shookan] [Summons]
Doomsday time has come.
It is time to depart.
 
Scream and dance, MOAMETAL,
scream and dance, YUIMETAL,
and, vocal and dance, SU-METAL.
You must leave now.
It is time to depart.
 
In two-thousand and ten, BABYMETAL was formed
at the root of the theme: Kawaii Metal.
The meaning is the mixture of J-pop idols and Heavy Metal.10
BABYMETAL was receiving attention from all over the world.
They are on the road of the one and only.11
BABYMETAL say good-bye to Japan...12
 

Notes

  1. "Kyodai seiryoku 'Aidoru'" (= the Big Power "Idols") refers to AKB group (including AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, etc). Rumor say the ruler of AKB group Yasushi AKIMOTO conspires with an Ad & PR company Dentsu. Dentsu is a gulliver company, and the Japanese government often commissions the PR to them. These conspiracy theories are alleged because the Japanese mass media often favor or ignore someones unnaturally.
  2. These two lines of the translation don't correspond line by line to the transcription but reversed.
  3. The antecedent of "whose" is "a new Metal".
  4. English narration "the mixture of J-pop idols and Heavy Metal" comes later. "融合" (yuugoo; fusion) and "混合" (kongoo; mixture) are usually distinguished in Japanese. "Yuugoo" means the unifying of fused things, not a mere mixture of things.
  5. The images of BABYMETAL's concerts are displayed on the screen: Legend "I" on 2012 Oct. 6th, Legend "D" on 2012 Dec. 20th, Legend "Z" on 2013 Feb. 1st, "May Revolution" in 2013 May (a famous picture, a funny man, & an emblem flying in the night sky), Legend "1999" on 2013 Jun. 30th, Summer Sonic 2013 a.k.a. "Tenka-ichi Budookai" (= the Metal Martial Arts Tournament for the Strongest under Heaven) on 2013 Aug. 10th&11th, Loud Park 2013 on 2013 Oct. 20th, Legend "1997" on 2013 Dec. 21st, Live in Singapore on 2013 Dec. 28th (Merlion), and Live in Taipei with ChthoniC (a Taiwanese metal band) on 2014 Feb. 2nd (during Chinese New Year / a devil?).
  6. "The national maestro" refers to a famous comedian Tamori who is the MC of a famous TV program "Music Station". He is not a professional musician but has a good knowledge of music and plays the trumpet.
  7. On 2014 Feb. 7th, BABYMETAL, AKB48 & others appeared on Music Station. Then the fox sign was explained, and the MC & most guests made the fox signs. It is a common practice for the MC & the guests of Music Station to be friendly to young guests (and WATANABE Mayu of AKB48 was a fan of Sakura Gakuin & BABYMETAL since before), but some fans said like "since the members of AKB48 raised the fox signs, the Metal Resistance is complete".
  8. "Noroshi o ageru" (= to send up a signal fire) seems to have become the idiom which means "to make an action that becomes the beginning of a big movement".
  9. It might mean "Now let's advance to foreign lands!", but I think such tone is unfit to the Fox God.
  10. It seems to be not "the new" but "the meaning". I fixed the transcription on 2017 May 29 (thanks to Fernando san no 2017 May 27).
  11. I couldn't hear this line well. Anonymous san on 2015 Mar. 31st and on 2015 Apr. 20th suggested this. (Appended on 2015 Aug. 19th. Sorry for late update.)
  12. About the meaning of this line, see note [i] of Epilogue for "Black Night".

14 comments :

  1. Regarding note 10, the text in { }, I hear it as: They're on the road of the one and only.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for all your hard work. On the english portion I am hearing "as a unit of the theme: Kawaii Metal" instead of "at the root of the theme: Kawaii Metal". I would also second that I am hearing "They're on the road of the one and only".

    ReplyDelete
  3. Du Enki-san

    BABYMETAL in Toronto, Danforth Music Hall...a review of the show (absolutely stellar of course), again you are mentioned, again your translations are used...
    http://xzzlixxzzx.blogspot.ca/2015/05/live-report-babymetal-at-danforth-music.html

    Again, どうもありがとうございます!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for information. I'm glad to know the audience at Danforth enjoyed the show and BABYMETAL's North America Tour ended successfully.

      Delete
  4. Du Enki-san

    Not sure if you're interested, but I figured I'd share with you, on the off chance you want to embed or use the following. I've put an .srt to the Summons Ceremony, uploaded to YouTube (unlisted, but you can still embed and/or post links) and DailyMotion (public).
    YT: https://youtu.be/5ubbIcTMJ34
    DM: http://dai.ly/x329wq4
    Cheers, and enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for captioning and uploading the video.
      And I'm sorry for leaving this post and others "under construction".

      Delete
  5. Du Enki-san

    "...And I'm sorry for leaving this post and others "under construction..."

    No worries, sir! The part in question was in English, I did not sub the English section for the purposes of the vid. I approached my computer with some trepidation today, concerned that the highly anti-Japanese RIAJ may've deleted the video. A bit of luck, Unlisted video on YouTube still up, DailyMotion video (which is public) still up. (My playlist not so lucky. Enormous chunks of Legend 1997 gone, and the majority of those accounts, deleted.)

    RIAJ must be anti-Japanese. It's the only explanation for the deletion of so many Western accounts that were doing nothing but pushing Japanese content. My site, yes, but so many others as well. These accounts brought not only BABYMETAL (may God bless them) to the attention of North America and Europe, but so many other acts as well.

    Is it just me or is Metrock 2015 the best BABYMETAL performance to date? And intriguing question. What is the best BABYMETAL performance to date?

    Why RIAJ?
    Why?
    といつものように、

    ありがとう!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suspect that (some stupid worker of) RIAJ claimed the deletion without consulting Amuse Inc. because Amuse Inc. seem not to remove unauthorized videos for a while if they think those are useful for promotion.
      In 2012, a musician of Gagaku (= Japanese traditional (court) music) was asked to pay copyright fees (if needed) by a young worker of JASRAC. He didn't know Gagaku is free from JASRAC and treated the concert like amateur J-pop concerts. Some manager of JASRAC immediately apologized for this.

      In general, most BM fans like daylight concerts (MetRock 2013, Inazuma Rock Fes 2013, Sonisphere 2014, MetRock 2015, etc.) because they can see BABYMETAL more clearly (& the mood seems more cheerful) than in usual in-the-dark-red-light concerts.
      It is difficult to select the best performance. Of course, BABYMETAL have made progress in singing & dancing, but some miss SU-METAL's younger voice and some complain some part of the choreography has been simplified for longer shows & tougher schedules. I hear some huge fan who seem to have attended most of BM's (earlier) concerts selects the performance at BIGCAT in Osaka on 2013 May 10th as the best.

      Delete
  6. I wonder if this can be useful, but in the line (English part only) "The new is the mixture of J-pop idols and Heavy Metal" I think I hear "The meaning" [of 'Kawaii-metal'], not "the new". It could be both though.

    Thanks for all these transcriptions of prologues/epilogues by the way

    Fernando :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for suggestion. I've fixed it.

      Delete
  7. So when did Metal Resistance Episode I begin if it ended at Doomsday?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Metal Resistance began with Legend "I" concert in 2012 Oct., when BABYMETAL performed with the live backing band for the first time (only 2 songs).
      However, the chaptering was not consistent. The encore part of Legend "Z" concert was then called "the last chapter of the holy war", and the Black Night at Budokan was called "the last chapter of Metal Resistance" at the end of the Red Night at Budokan, and it was announced at the end of the Black Night that the first chapter of Metal Resistance ended. Since the Wembley concert, the word "episode" has been used instead of "chapter" (章 ; shô) probably under the influence of Star Wars.

      Delete